Sunday, October 13, 2013

Sun Oct 13th Todays News

Bill Shorten is the new ALP leader, and it is time to examine the process the ALP employed. It has meant a conflict of interest with the Governor General (his Mother in Law) in which she has offered to resign, when she should have resigned. She has never had a problem working with clear conflicts of interest before. It may well be the case that she is eventually charged over the Heiner affair with obstruction of justice. But that is a side issue to the show that was the campaign. It was handled badly by an ALP wanting to heal from the personality divisions and failed policy of the recent past. It did not feature discussion on policy. Apparently, the dismal failed policies regarding AGW, Broadband, Immigration, Border Security, Health, Infrastructure, defence, IR and financing are all retained. Shorten promised multiple quotas which should dilute the power of a single gender quota, but be patently unfair on those who merit promotion.The US Primaries are excellent at building support for the President. But US elections are not compulsory for voters. So those primaries work to gain support from party supporters. In Australia, it is compulsory to vote, so parties try to appeal to the centre, swing voters. The difference means a GOP advert might have a prospective member shooting a target. Whereas a (conservative Australian) Liberal Party advert would be for families, struggling workers and those aspirational peoples wanting a better deal. Maybe in the future such a process will be adopted by the Liberal Party, but at the moment it is redundant .. Mr Abbott is leader and Prime Minister for he foreseeable future.Meanwhile, there is a big challenge regarding IR laws. Under Fair Work I was employed under a federal grant on less than minimum wage without conditions. When I pointed this out, the bastard boss sacked me. I had no cause of action for complaint. Under Work Choices, I had had protections against such abuse. But, such abuse, possible under Fair Work, requires special circumstances beyond the average employer or multinational unless they are endowed with political corruption. In fact Fair Work means it is hard to employ people and expensive and so business skip the opportunity cost. There is a need for reform. However, business has not made the case for it and unions are cashed up from the previous ALP government. There are slush funds available for much campaigning. If business want improvements in IR laws, they have to make the case .. and dismiss the ALP/Union partisan Fair Work leaders for reliable ones who are independent.
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Piers Akerman – Saturday,October 12,2013 (11:11pm)

IF your son or daughter can’t find an entry-level job in the restaurant or tourism industry as the school year comes to an end, you can blame the dinosaurs in the trade union movement, Labor’s Fair Work commissioner Anne Gooley and Big Business.

... even though most members would rather have Anthony Albanese, and by a long shot.
Shorten won 63.9 per cent of the MPs’ votes, but just 40 per cent of the members’.
UPDATE
Shorten got 55 of the 86 Caucus votes - a very strong majority.
So what did Labor members get from this first leadership ballot - this new “democratic process”?
Zero. MPS overruled the members’ clear choice.
And what did the MPs get? The same result as a simple party-room ballot,
with this one difference: everyone now knows the leader isn’t wanted by
most members.
Great success.
UPDATE
Reader Brett t r on Shorten’s mother-in-law:

Andrew, SURELY the GG MUST now tender her resignation.To not do so would
be unthinkable as well respected constitutional law lawyers and
academics have argued.

UPDATE
Sky News is reporting that Governor-General Quentin Bryce has offered
to stand down early to avoid a perception of a conflict of interest. If
she thinks that perception exists, she should step down of her own
volition. She should know this is an offer Tony Abbott could not
possibly accept, even if he felt it necessary, given how partisan that
would make him seem.
UPDATE
Predictably, Abbott declines Bryce’s offer.
UPDATE
Albanese doesn’t seem to upset at his press conference. Did he run like he meant it?
UPDATE
Shorten thanks Albanese, and for the first time I can recall actually pronounces his name correctly.
Says the election contest proved for the first time in a long time “that Labor can govern itself”.

They are socialists who say they stand for peace and tolerance. They are
feminists who want equal dignity and opportunity for all.
Now watch these modern barbarians intimidate, abuse, assault and steal from people who are trying to peacefully express a different point of view on abortion:

A Victorian MP says he was assaulted and egged when pro-choice and anti-abortion groups clashed in Melbourne on Saturday.

An organiser of the anti-abortion march, Liberal MP Bernie Finn, says he
and others from his group were assaulted by pro-choice activists who
held a counter-demonstration.

The Left is the home of the modern totalitarian. It is the excuse for the bully.
More here:

THE BOLT REPORT
13 OCTOBER 2013
INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT MORRISON
ANDREW BOLT, PRESENTER: Early this year, we were getting 500 boat people
every week. In the first three weeks of the Abbott Government, it’s
fewer than 80 a week.
MARK BINSKIN: This means that, in the first three weeks of Operation
Sovereign Borders, there’s been a total of 215 arrivals transferred.
ANDREW BOLT: Joining me is Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. 80 boat
people a week - part of that is due to the Kevin Rudd deal to send boat
people back to Papua New Guinea, but do you think you’ve made a
difference too?
SCOTT MORRISON: Well, I think, at this stage, 80 a week is too many.
We’re certainly not making any grand claims about this or, as the
previous government used to when they had levels of arrivals five times
what they were at a previous election when they took over. So, look,
we’re just getting on with the job, Andrew. What the numbers are – and
what the numbers are, others can read into that. We still have a lot of
work to do here. The government left us virtually nothing - an empty
shell - when it came to the PNG arrangement. I mean, all the work about
putting that into practice has had to be done by this Government. For
example, there was no funding for offshore processing from the 1st of
January. There had been absolutely a blank page on resettlement
practices in Papua New Guinea. I mean, there’s just nothing there. The
cupboard was bare.
ANDREW BOLT: Is there a higher tempo of cooperation between Australians –
Australian officials and Indonesians in Indonesia to stop the boats?
SCOTT MORRISON: Absolutely. I mean, the cooperation we’re achieving with
Indonesia is very encouraging. The Prime Minister’s visit with
President Yudhoyono, I think, provided an excellent platform. There are
good relationships to draw on. But you’ve got to give the funding
support to people working up there - in particular, our Federal Police
and other agencies. I mean, they need to be able to plan with certainty.
I mean, they were previously having to beg, borrow and steal their
budget from right across their organisation to try and keep a presence
up in Indonesia. We’ve relieving them of that burden, we’ve relieved
them of it, and we’re relieving them of it further to ensure that they
can commit to join operations up there, and we’re already seeing results
from that. The commissioner, Negus, outlined some great early activity,
but there’s still a long way to go. But there is a long way to go,
Andrew. And I don’t want to - I can’t overstate that enough. We’ve got a
lot of work to, do and we’re getting on with it.
ANDREW BOLT: One of the things… is one of the things you’re looking at
doing providing Indonesia with boats for its coastguard or whatever in
order to be able to either stop some of the people - boats coming, or
take over the passengers when we intercept them?

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===A high school in Indiana decided recently to ban the classic country song “Rocky Top” from football games because its references to “moonshine” are supposedly “politically incorrect,” asWNDU.com puts it.
===Outback Steakhouse AustraliaSundays are for indulgence, what do you want today ?
===What's the first word you see ???Love .. but shortly after .. defuk .. ed===Ok, I want all my Facebook friends to comment on this status, sharing how you met me. But, I want you to LIE. That's right, just make it up. After you comment, copy and paste to your wall so I can do the same. I bet HALF won't read the instructions right....Now GO (I did it for someone else...you can do it to!) It was at the BDS rally at Max Brenner in Wynyard. I got past the dumb protestors and I told you not tell my personal trainer as I ordered a hot fudge sunday with whipped cream .. and you said I didn't have the correct change ..
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===A 60th wedding anniversary .. at times like this I'm romantic in thought. It is the dream one holds when proposing. ed
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<I did want a juice from Topjuice in Rhodes until I saw the girl drop watermelon on the floor, pick it up and juice it then hand it to a customer.>
===BRITISH detectives investigating the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal have reportedly arrested a man and raided his home.

The Sunday Mail last week featured claims from a lawyer who insisted a man he met at a party had seen the missing child on an island in the Mediterranean, now say an arrest has been made.

Following those reports, the paper said a man has been arrested by Greater Metropolitan Police and computers from a private home were seized.

Our National Parks are more and more resembling police states, where gates are closed and the threat of fines, towing and arrests are common fare. My friends Darvin Atkeson, and Miguel De La Cruz are visiting the east side of the Sierras to find and take pictures of Fall colors, and because the whole area is a National forest everything is off limits. Darvin says "According to some of the locals and other photographers they hsve been making arrests ticketing towing and sometimes all 3. Trespassing on federal lands." All the restrooms everywhere are closed and the police are busy being fascist in lands that should belong to the people. This is ridiculous.
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LEADING Australian doctors do not think the tiniest premature babies - born below 24 weeks and weighing less than 500g - should be given life-saving resuscitation at birth.

Although doctors do not routinely resuscitate babies born this early, some do so at the request of parents.

But a new Australian study shows that in a six-year period at one hospital, no baby born this early, who was also very small, survived without disability.

Only one baby born before 24 weeks and weighing less than 500g survived, but was severely impaired, the research found.

The findings have prompted a team of Australian and American doctors to question whether parents should be given the option of resuscitation for babies this premature.

Dr Dominic Wilkinson, Associate Professor of Neonatal Medicine and Bioethics at the University of Adelaide, said there were two groups of babies.

"Babies born weighing less than pound of butter (500g) have a better chance of surviving if they are more mature, but small because of poor growth in the womb," he said.

But he said babies who were both extremely premature and extremely small had a very low chance of surviving without severe disability.

"In such cases it's hard to see that resuscitation is a wise choice," he said. "If they are told there is some chance of survival, many parents ask doctors to do what they could to save the baby".

But he said many doctors "would be reluctant to pursue intensive care treatment that may be very burdensome for the baby".

Outrageous .. killing healthy babies in the chance they might not be healthy? Even if they are crippled, they are still superior to those who would kill them - ed
===Jason J-FoBill Shorten elected leader of the Labor party today. Gloomy skies and rain all day in the electorate of Maribyrnong. Gaia weeps too.
===Aprille LoveEye spy with my little eye #galaxy#note3
===“The situation in Sinai is deteriorating and is becoming of grave concern, not just for Israel, but first and foremost for Egypt, because violence in Sinai is infiltrating into mainland Egypt,” one Israel official told FoxNews.com. “It seems that jihadis are getting bolder every time, and with every action they pose a real threat to national security in Egypt, not to mention to security on the border, and potentially to Israel.”
===Police closed in on Juarez and waited for him Friday outside a Manhattan restaurant where he worked as a dishwasher. He told them he killed the girl at the apartment of his sister -- Juarez-Ramirez. Then, the sister, who is now dead, helped dispose of the body. Kelly said they took a livery cab from Queens to Manhattan where they dumped the cooler.

The cooler, which contained the girl's remains and unopened cans of Coke, was later discovered by construction workers.Kelly called the arrest a superb case of detective work, and he was proud of his officers. Juarez was being held on murder charges and was awaiting arraignment.
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The fundamental Zionist idea about anti-Semitism was that once a Jewish State was realized, the problem of anti-Semitism in Paris, Berlin and Rome would be solved. Since Jews would have their own homeland, they could no longer be persecuted as religious and national strangers. But this neat packet of reasoning has turned out to be incorrect.

The Belgian Ministry of Education funds an organization, the Committee for Remebrance Education, which provides teachers with materials for their history lessons. One of the materials used is the cartoon “Never Again, Over Again”, which equates the treatment of the Palestinian Arabs by the Israelis today with the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis in the 40s.
“Never Again” means that what happened under Hitler should never happen again. And “Over Again” means that what is happening today is the same as in the past with Hitler, the Belgian school teachers are told. “In the past, the concentration camps were fenced off with barbed wire. Today, the border between Israel and Palestine is marked with barbed wire and a wall”.

Daniel Goldhagen devoted his entire academic research to the analysis of the Nazi genocide. His international fame came with “Hitler’s Willing Executioners”, the book-indictment of one hundred thousand “ordinary Germans” who killed millions of Jews. Now it is the turn of Goldhagen’s new book titled “The Devil That Never Dies”, published by Little, Brown and Company.

The book is most important as an analysis of “global anti-Semitism” as Goldhagen calls it, but it is also the indictment of Europe’s public opinion which depicts the Jews as “monstrous predators” who crush the Palestinians. Goldhagen enunclates Europe’s new anti-Semitism as follows: “Israel has no right to exist, so it is right and necessary to destroy the Jewish state. Two hundred million Europeans see the Israeli Jews as Nazis”.

That’s why, according to the Jewish People Planning Institute, 40 to 50 percent of European Jews are considering alyah. Because they do not feel safe.

‘Dubula iJuda:’ Kill the Jews, a boycott mob chanted at patrons of a campus jive in Johannesburg. The artists were Israeli and the promoter was a Zionist body – two combustible elements to ignite even a well-disposed mob. Dubula iJuda!

Boycott leaders had no choice but to recoil in horror. “We condemn any and all incitement to violence and racism -- including anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism” declared Farid Esack, Director of BDS South Africa. Not to be outdone by a Muslim, Jewish boycotters condemned the chant “in the strongest terms” and couldn’t fathom how Muhammed Desai, who runs BDS affairs, could defend the chanters.

Not even the Palestine Solidarity Forum offered an excuse. The chant had “unacceptable and explicit anti-Semitic elements” said different chapters of the Forum, demanding that comrades make a public apology.

Were these public statements from stricken figures or just plain embarrassed ones?

Half and half. It both horrified and embarrassed boycott leaders to see the true colours of the movement unfurled to all and sundry. Reports and commentaries on the event got it all wrong. If there was a schism between the hooligan mob and contrite leaders it was over the mob’s stupid display of the Jew-hatred that leadership had been at great pains to hide.

Now the lid had blown. ‘Kill the Jews’ had always expressed the aspiration of boycotters, high and low, Muslim and Jew, Christian and atheist, spokesman and placard wielding chanter. Will sophisticated racists ever forgive their Xhosa comrades!

The lid was off; the emperor was stripped of his clothes, his unlovely soul bared to public gaze. Hence the ungainly scramble to higher ground. Farid Esack and company had to distance themselves from Dubula iJuda as far and as fast as they could. Frankenstein, their work of years, their indoctrinated monster taught to execrate devil Jews, had cut loose and was out of control.

All lies! the cry will go forth. Be ready for it. Prepare to demonstrate that Esack and cohorts are not pro-Palestinian but anti-Jew. Read them their own charter; lay at their feet their own behaviour. Go to the boycotter, oh sluggard. Consider his ways and be wise.

Take some object -- a leaf -- under a magnifying glass. Unfocused, the glass filters weak sunlight around the leaf. Now position it so that the sun's power is concentrated in a point no bigger than a pinhead. Hold the pinhead steady over the leaf until it burns hot enough to set the leaf aflame.
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Sariya Ofer, a retired IDF colonel in his fifties, fatally beaten by at least two men outside his home in Brosh Habika • Ofer's wife suffers minor injuries in the attack • Military and police forces conduct searches for the perpetrators.

Just days before the world powers renew talks with Iran, PM Netanyahu holds series of interviews with European media outlets with aim of pressuring EU countries not to lift economic sanctions on Tehran • "No deal is better than a bad deal," PM warns.

Israel’s military leadership failure to notice, let alone grasp the strategic implications of, regional and international developments is not new. It has been going on for at least 40 years.

During his visit to Israel in March, US President Barack Obama compelled Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to apologize to his Turkish counterpart for the actions of IDF Naval Commandos aboard the Mavi Marmara terror ship in May 2010.

The story is cloudier than that, imho, the Israeli leaders are making the best of a bad deal .. not because they feel that Israel cannot survive without the US but because of the reality that it would be hard to prosper without good US relations .. I don't blame Netanyahu for US voting in Obama. - ed
===At the UNHRC's "Hate Israel Day,"23 September '13, Syria, Egypt and Pakistan for the Islamic States accused Israel of violating the human rights of Syrians. Attacks by Islamic terrorists in Kenya and Pakistan were ignored. UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer asked why.?! - ed
===Israel should respond with “extreme force” to the murder of Seraiah Ofer, a retired IDF colonel, who was killed in an apparent terrorist attack outside his home in the northern Jordan Valley overnight Thursday, Ofer’s widow said Saturday.
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Probably made by a Parisian jeweller, this ruby and diamond parure is undoubtedly one of the most impressive ones in the Danish royal collection.

It consists of a tiara, a pair of chandelier earrings, a brooch, a bracelet, a ring, and a necklace which has the particularity of being composed of several elements set with small rubies bonded to each other, in order to give the impression of a single large ruby.

Originally, the parure was a gift presented in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon to his ex-fiancee Desiree Clary (spouse of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden and Norway) on the occasion of the his coronation ceremony in Paris.

Upon Queen Desiree's death in 1860, it was bequeathed to her daughter-in-law, Josephine of Sweden (who became a widow and a dowager Queen one year before), who herself presented it to her granddaughter princess Louise Sweden, when she married in 1869 prince Frederik of Denmark, later King Frederik VIII.

That's how the parure became part of the Danish monarchs' personal collection. Thereafter, its use was reserved for the wife of the heir to the throne, who can't wear the Crown jewels (kept in Rosenborg Castle and reserved for the Queen) : princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1898, princess Ingrid of Sweden from 1935, and finally Mary Donaldson since 2004.

Please note that the leaf tiara has undergone several contradictory alterations : if Queen Ingrid added two brooches to make it more substantial, princess Mary commissioned in 2010 the jeweller Marianne Dulong to remove three leaves and to transform them into hair pins.Everyone loves a good Danish - ed
===“Jewelled Beetle” by Garth Knight – the beetle is composed of pieces by Lorenz Baumer, a keen collector of contemporary photographs
===So, yesterday I decided to finally get around to filling up a multi picture photo frame that Laura and I got as a gift a while back. I cut out and inserted a picture of my youngest daughter Claudia into the top spot. I was looking for more photos, when she came up to me and looked at the picture of her in the frame. That's when I became a little impish... and said "Claudia, I have some news for you..." and continued "you see this family in these pictures? They are your new family" to which Claudia replied "what?" with a quizzical look on her face. I said "these people are adopting you and you will be living with them from this point on". Claudia looked at the photos contemplatively and then turned to me and said very matter of factly "okay" and walked away into the family room. I have to admit, upon looking closer at the pictures, the people in them actually look a bit more fun than us... Daddy's trick backfired... yep, I got spanked!Lol, she is probably organising a replacement daughter for you right now .. someone good. - ed
===Andy TrieuHonoured to be the best man @steveleenguyen #wedding#great#life#moments#ninjabucksparty
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===Aprille LoveLol @antoinette_leviste and her chip eating ways.#hailubyu#missearthaustralia
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This video advertisment announcing the start of#Saddleback#Berlin is airing in the subway trains that carry millions of Berliners! Pray that many will be intrigued and attend on Sunday. Thanks!
=#SaddlebackBERLIN launches this weekend with Pastor @DaveSchnitter. Please pray for our amazing launch team that has moved to Berlin. Thanks!=#NatalieGrant leads in worship this weekend at Saddleback. God has used her in many great ways since she sang on the #PurposedDrivenLife album 10 years ago!=Last Weekend #DannyGokey led worship at Saddleback. God used him in a great way. This weekend we have #NatalieGrant!
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Today Labor elected its seventh leader in ten years.

The result confirms that Labor is still deeply divided - and that nothing has changed.

Bill Shorten's first decision today was to recommit Labor to a carbon tax. Labor will vote against the new Coalition Government’s legislation to scrap the carbon tax and cut electricity bills.

Labor still haven’t admitted they got it so wrong on border security.

Nor have they admitted their addiction to waste and taxes meant they lost control of the Budget, delivering Australians record deficits and record debt.

Until Labor and its new Leader can admit they were wrong on the policies which most concern Australian families, nothing has really changed.

All that Labor has done today is reward the chief plotter who removed Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

The factional system that Mr Shorten controls delivered him the leadership through the Caucus - against the overwhelming wishes of Labor members.

Labor may have changed leaders but they have not changed the policies rejected by the people of Australia at the recent election.

Morning

There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on his Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser's feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches, or else the juice will not flow; and they must well tread the grapes, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation therefrom. Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it. Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, "I will meditate in thy precepts."

Evening

This age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, in which Jesus cheers us, not by his personal presence, as he shall do by-and-by, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Ghost, who is evermore the Comforter of the church. It is his office to console the hearts of God's people. He convinces of sin; he illuminates and instructs; but still the main part of his work lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down. He does this by revealing Jesus to them. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. If we may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ's name and grace. He takes not of his own things, but of the things of Christ. So if we give to the Holy Spirit the Greek name of Paraclete, as we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the title of Paraclesis. If the one be the Comforter, the other is the Comfort. Now, with such rich provision for his need, why should the Christian be sad and desponding? The Holy Spirit has graciously engaged to be thy Comforter: dost thou imagine, O thou weak and trembling believer, that he will be negligent of his sacred trust? Canst thou suppose that he has undertaken what he cannot or will not perform? If it be his especial work to strengthen thee, and to comfort thee, dost thou suppose he has forgotten his business, or that he will fail in the loving office which he sustains towards thee? Nay, think not so hardly of the tender and blessed Spirit whose name is "the Comforter." He delights to give the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Trust thou in him, and he will surely comfort thee till the house of mourning is closed forever, and the marriage feast has begun.

Today's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 39-40

Envoys From Babylon

1 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. 2 Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon....”

Today's New Testament reading: Colossians 4

1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Final Greetings

7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here....

[Fē'lĭx] - happy, prosperous. A cruel Roman governor of Judea, appointed by the Emperor Claudius, whose freedman he was (Acts 23:24, 26; 24:2-27; 25:14). Felix is described by Tacitus as a bad and cruel governor, even though the title of "most excellent" was given to him.

The Man Who Procrastinated

As a true preacher, Paul pressed home the truth until it pricked the conscience of Felix so much so that he "trembled." He did not resent Paul's plain speaking but postponed the interview "till a more convenient season." Such a "convenient season," however, did not come, and Felix became a type of many whose consciences are stirred by the preached Word, but whose hopes of eternal security are ruined by a like procrastination. The two sworn enemies of the soul are "Yesterday" and "Tomorrow."

Yesterday slays its thousands. Past sins plunge many into darkness and despair. Priceless opportunities were trampled upon, and the harvest is past. But God says there is mercy still and free forgiveness through repentance.

Tomorrow slays its tens of thousands. Vows, promises, resolutions are never fulfilled. "Some other time," many say, when urged to repent and believe. They fail to realize that nowis the acceptable time. How pitiful it is that theconvenient season never dawns for them! The pathway to their hell is strewn with good resolutions, and as they cross "The Great Divide," the mocking voice cries out: "Too late! Too late!"

When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule for everything she says (Proverbs 31:26, NIV).

Friend to Friend

A father took his six-year-old daughter on a "date" to their favorite restaurant. During the meal, the dad did most of the talking as he told his little girl how wonderful she was, how proud of he was to be her dad and how special she was to him and to God. After he had done what he thought was a sufficient job, he picked up his fork and began to eat. His daughter put her little hand on his arm and stopped him with these words, "Longer, Daddy. Longer!" The father said he didn't eat much food that day, but a little girl's hungry heart was certainly fed.

Life is filled with hungry hearts. I really believe most of us delight in finding creative ways to touch those hearts and are passionate about introducing them to God's love, forgiveness and transforming power. However, I wonder how many of us miss the hungry hearts that greet us each morning across the breakfast table, wait for us to come home each night or silently long for us to convince them that they really are not total failures. Every day, we cross paths with people who feel unworthy and unwanted. They have no idea how special they are to us and in the eyes of God. How easy it is to lose focus and scramble priorities. We get so busy doing such good things and miss one of the highest things God created us to do - encourage one another.

One of the greatest gifts we can give the people in our lives is the gift of a guarded tongue. The Psalmist writes, "Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD: keep watch over the door of my lips." Someone once said, "Lord, please bridle my tongue, so that on Judgment Day, I will not be guilty of assault with a deadly weapon." The power of the spoken word is great in that words are like seeds. What we plant will grow. If we plant negative words, destructive and critical words, we will reap relationships that are negative, destructive and critical. On the other hand, if we consistently plant words of encouragement, our relationships will flourish. Look for the good in your family and friends - and then speak it. Be a cheerleader for the people God sends your way. Everyone needs a cheerleader!

CBS released a movie about Karen Carpenter, the talented singer who rose to stardom while singing with her brother, Richard. At the young age of 32, Karen Carpenter died unexpectedly of heart failure, the result of many years of abuse caused by the eating disorder, Anorexia Nervosa. What amazed and saddened me most about Karen Carpenter was the underlying reason for her fatal obsession with weight control. It seems that a reporter once called her "Richard's chubby sister." Careless words, spoken without thought, can demolish a life.

We need to ask God to teach us to understand just how powerful our words are. Proverbs 31:26 reads, "When she speaks, she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly." How I wish that statement could be said about me. There are days when I desperately want to rip out my unruly tongue or reach out and grasp the harsh words I have just spoken and stuff them back into my mouth. What was I thinking? That's just it. I wasn't thinking. We would be wise to ask ourselves these questions before speaking:

T Is it true?

H Is it helpful?

I Is it inspiring?

N Is it necessary?

K Is it kind?

Over the years, I have had many, many opportunities in ministry and in life to learn from my mistakes when it comes to the way I speak and the words I use. Here are a few thoughts for us all to consider:

Use the five to one ratio when correcting someone - five positive comments to one negative comment.

The harder the truth, the greater the love with which it should be said.

Never put confrontational words in writing. Instead, confront face-to-face and write only words of encouragement that can be read again and again.

Our words should not only be guarded and carefully measured, but should be filled with wisdom and kindness as well.

While it is our responsibility to train our children in daily living, it is more important that we train them in Kingdom living. Words of wisdom gleaned from God's Word will not only transform the hearts and lives of our husband and children, but our own as well. Look for every opportunity to emphasize God's words as a model for the words we speak.

Make it a daily habit to speak words of encouragement to the people with whom you come in contact. By doing so, your heart and mind will soon be trained to focus on the good in each other. And that perspective builds healthy relationships.

The Apostle Paul writes, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29, NIV). I wonder what our world would look like if the words we speak were ruled by wisdom and kindness.

Let's Pray

Father, I am so sorry for the careless words I have spoken today. I really do want to encourage and build others up with the words I speak. I cannot control my tongue without Your power and strength. Help me learn to think before I speak. Break my heart when my words hurt others. Teach me how to be a cheerleader for my family and friends so that Your love will flow through me into their lives.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Now It's Your Turn

Examine the words you have spoken today in light of the following verses:

Psalm 141:3 "LORD, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say."

Psalm 20:14. "May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."

How did you do? I encourage you to memorize these two verses. Ask God to let each verse take root in your heart and work its way out in the words you speak.

More from the Girlfriends

I know the subject of controlling the tongue is a tough one - especially when anger is involved. I constantly struggle to think before I speak. How about you? If you need help, check out myE-Bible Study: Anger Management 911.

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help." Psalm 18:6a (NIV, 1984)

I knew I needed to talk with someone about the pain that was still buried in my heart, but I didn't want to talk about it. I was tired of hurting and afraid I'd fall apart or slip back into depression if I let it all come to the surface.

I didn't have time for falling apart. Plus it was in the past and I thought it would eventually just go away.

Have you ever avoided dealing with pain because it would take too much time? Or have you tried to pray away the pain only to realize healing is a process, but one you're not sure you want to go through?

Although we can't go back and change circumstances or relationships that wounded us, we can go back and process our pain with Jesus. In fact, we won't heal from our hurts unless we do.

When left unresolved, the pain from our yesterdays can creep up in our todays and keep us from experiencing all God has for our tomorrows.

This happened in my relationship with my husband several years into our marriage. I don't know exactly when it started, I just remember feeling a lot of anger and realizing I had a critical spirit towards JJ.

One day I sensed God showing me damaged emotions from my childhood I hadn't dealt with or healed from. Circumstances that happened in my past were now hindering my present, casting shadows of fear and doubt over my future.

I decided to make a time line of my life, marking key "emotional" events. As I prayed over it, I wrote down any painful emotions and memories I could remember.

Although it wasn't easy, I asked the Holy Spirit to remind me of experiences and relationships that had wounded me, what affects they'd had on me, how far from God they took me and how they had hurt me and others.

Years of disappointment as a child in a broken home with a broken heart led to a significant sense of loss. Yet, I never grieved the happily-ever-after I longed for but didn't have. Unfulfilled hopes led to bitter expectations.

During that time God showed me how I wanted JJ to make up for what my dad had never been as a father to me, or as a husband to my mom. Hoping to create my own version of "happily-ever-after," I became controlling and critical.

I thought if I could get JJ to be the husband and dad I wanted him to be, my broken dreams would get put back together. Maybe he could provide security and shelter for the little-girl-emotions that were still crushed inside my heart.

But my strategy wasn't working. Instead, I needed to cry out to God with my hurts and call on Him for help. And, I needed to take time to respond to what He was showing me.

Time to seek God for my security and hope by letting Him be the father I longed for. Time to grieve things I wanted from my father that I would never have. Time to invite God into my hurting places so He could heal my wounded emotions and set me free from my fear of never having a happy ending.

Finally, I needed to forgive my father and release my feelings of anger, abandonment, disappointment and hurt. I also needed to confess my sin of unrealistic expectations and let go of what I thought was my right to "happily-ever-after."

It was a process that took time, prayer, courage and tears, but it was worth it. Over time I was able to let go of my past and my pain as I took hold of hope and healing. I was also able to accept JJ for who he was and trust God to make him the husband He knew I needed, instead of the one I wanted.

When we allow Jesus to search our hearts and bring His perspective into our pain, redemption comes. Whether it is the pain from our yesterdays or hurts from our todays, when we give Jesus time to pour His truth into our wounds, His love flows into our pain and makes us whole again.

Dear Lord, please give me the courage and help me take the time to walk through the process of letting You heal my hurts and restore my heart with hope. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

This devotion is taken in part from Chapter 4, "Finding Hope for Your Future Despite the Pain of Your Past" of Renee's book, A Confident Heart.

Is there pain from the past you need to process with Jesus? Renee would love to pray for you. Visit Renee's website where she shares more of her story and the healing hope she's found. Also, enter to win 2 copies of A Confident Heart - one for you and one for a friend!

When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries,you support the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide at no cost.

Application Steps:Make a time line with key events that brought painful emotions and memories. Ask Jesus to reveal how they affected you, your relationship with God and others. Then ask Him to walk you through the process of replacing your pain with the healing balm of His presence and promises.

Reflections:"Although we can't go back and change the circumstances or relationships that have wounded us, we can go back and process our pain with Jesus." - A Confident Heart

Sin Like a Cancer

2 Samuel 18:33: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you-O Absalom, my son, my son!"

Sins: Many people think of them as parking tickets. If you get too many, the cops may track you down or give your car "the boot." However, one or two here and there won't make a big difference.

The Bible views sins more as cancer cells. One or two here and there do make a difference-often the difference between life and death. Because cancer cells grow, multiply and take over, major surgery may be needed to save your life.

Second Samuel 11-20 reads like the history of a spreading cancer. In the beginning, David was on top of the world-and so was Israel. The civil war was over, the land was at peace and Israel was entering an era of unprecedented prosperity. God had promised to ensure David's descendants a continuous reign forever. What more could David hope for? The rest of life appeared as one long celebration.

The Cancer Grows

That celebration never began. One night David caught a glimpse of Bathsheba's beautiful, naked body and impulsively sent for her. The cover-up required a murder. Nobody could deny it was an ugly business: Even David admitted it when Nathan confronted him. However, it was soon over. He repented. He married Bathsheba. He did not intend to fall for that temptation again.

But the consequences of the sin were far from over. Unknown to David, cancer was growing in his own household. David's oldest son Amnon had an eye for women too. He tricked his half sister Tamar into his bedroom, then raped her. Afterward, filled with disgust, he threw her out.

David was furious. But, maybe because he felt his own sin had robbed him of moral authority, he did nothing to punish his son. According to the law (see Leviticus 18:9,29), Amnon deserved exile, but he got off free. David apparently wanted the matter forgotten.

A Cold-Blooded Character

The cancer merely disappeared from view. Absalom waited two full years to avenge his sister's rape. Then he murdered Amnon in cold blood. Again David was long on regret, short on punishment. He wept over Amnon's death but perhaps recognized his own responsibility for it. After three years David let Absalom return to Jerusalem unpunished; two years later, when Absalom angrily demanded either a murder trial or full acceptance back into the palace (see 2 Samuel 14:32), David kissed and made up completely.

Again the cancer disappeared from view. But it was not gone; it grew. Now an arrogant Absalom started a program of public relations designed to make him look better than his aging father. At the end of four years, having become quite popular, he set his coup in motion. Taken completely by surprise, David was driven out of Jerusalem into the desert.

The shock seemed to awaken David. Though dazed and weeping as he left the city, he had enough sense to make some clever plans. When the battle came at last, David's army won, and Absalom was captured and killed.

Weeping for His Son

For David the king, Absalom's defeat was a great triumph. For David the father, it was a horrible tragedy. The worst thing that can happen to a father had happened to him. His own son had tried to kill him, and in trying, had been killed. David could not stop weeping over his son's death until Joab, his general, warned him that he was insulting the troops who had fought for him.

David pulled himself together. Piece by piece, he put his kingdom back in order. He sent conciliatory words to the rebellious leaders of his own tribe. He rewarded his supporters. He took no revenge on any rebel faction, but showed remarkable fairness. A second rebellion broke out but was soon put down. The cancer seemed finally to have run its course.

Yet it had not. David had no more trouble with rebellion in his lifetime, but after his death Solomon killed a brother whom he thought was scheming for the throne (see 1 Kings 2:25). After Solomon's reign, the old tribal tensions rose again, and the north and the south, which David had so carefully knit together, split for good (see 1 Kings 12). Such may be the consequences when a leader sins. His cancer not only poisons him; it grows to affect all those he leads-and it undermines his work.

Life Question

Many people will, at some point, see their well-run lives disintegrate. What enables someone to pick up the pieces, as David did?

Why Worship? Why Give?

Author Mark Allan Powell addresses the fundamental principle behind Biblical giving: "The patriarch Jacob experiences God's presence in a dream and, not knowing what else to do, sets up a stone and pours oil over the top of it (Ge 28:16-18)." Powell points out that early Old Testament people "who had been touched by the goodness of God wanted to worship God, and they did that by taking something that belonged to them and giving it to God in the only way they knew how." Later Powell discusses giving as it relates to those of us in the new covenant:

God may be pleased, indeed delighted, with us even if we are giving the wrong amount, even if [we] are giving to unworthy or inappropriate causes. As we learn more about stewardship, of course, we will want to grow in those respects. We can spend a lifetime trying to find better ways of fulfilling God's expectations. But, for starters, our principal concern in giving should not be where to give, or how to give, or how much to give. First, let us focus on the why. If we give with hearts full of devotion for the God who loves us, then the questions of where and how and how much will work themselves out in time.

I once served as a pastor in a congregation where the people wanted me to visit all of the "inactive members"...

All of the people I visited told me in one way or another that they had quit coming to church because they weren't "getting out of it" whatever it was that they thought they should...

This surprised me because when I was a child and my family went to church on Sunday morning, my mother used to tell us, "We are going to worship God"...

And now that I am (a lot) older, I have discovered something else. When people do this-when they come to church to worship God-something wonderful happens. They invariably discover that they are much more likely to get something out of the experience than if they had come for any other reason. I don't know why this is-maybe God just has a sense of irony. Or maybe the point is that one of our greatest needs is to worship God...

So, worship is essential to faith. But I have also said that sacrifice is essential to worship. Why is that? Because worship, almost by definition, is the opposite of self-centeredness. Doing this always involves some element of self-denial or sacrifice, giving up something that we value, giving up attention to our wants and our needs in order to focus on God...

When we give cheerfully as an act of worship, the very act of giving moves us to lose interest in ourselves and to devote ourselves to God.

Think About It

Why do you go to church?

How does your attitude affect your ability to worship God?

In your experience, how are worship and giving related?

Pray About It

Lord, search my heart. Show me any attitudes, thoughts, emotions or motives that need to change so that I may worship you in love.

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About Me

I'm author of History in a Year by the Conservative Voice aka History of the World in a Year by the Conservative Voice.

I'm the Conservative Voice.

I'm looking to make contact with those who might use my skill.

I have an m-audio mobile pre amp fed by the audiotechnica 2041sp condensor mic pack. Prior to 15/4/06, I'd used a Shure sm-58 that required a nuclear blast to register a sound or the internal mic of my aged imac, which has a penchance to recording my breathing. I also used a Griffin itrip, until the community convinced me it was not hiding my talent as well as the other mics.

I am a Writer and an occasional Math Teacher (Sir, what's the occasion?). I like to sing, having no instrumental talent (cannot even clap in time, and yes, I'm aware singing badly IS obnoxious).

I have performed the finale to Les Miserables before an audience of 500. I have also sung before a similar audience (students, parents) renditions of 'I Will' (Beatles), 'Mr Cairo' (Jon Vangelis) and 'I am Australian' (Seekers). Now I seek another profession because the audience hates me ..